Smoke & Mirrors
by LadyoftheBirds
Summary: SEQUEL TO "FAINT MEMORIES"! Now that their identities have been revealed, Adrien & Marinette now must focus on Hawkmoth and his mysterious ally. With the final battle looming ever so closer, the duo must enlist allies. Will they be able to defeat all the akumas that are yet to be unleashed, or will Adrien not be able to fight those closest to him? (Rated T to be safe)
1. Lies

Chapter One: Lies

 **A/N: Yet** ** _another_** **fanfic I am now responsible for! yay...**

 **Anyways, this is the sequel to my first fanfic Faint Memories, so go read it before you read this!**

 **I know I said I wanted to wait until Style Queen releases, but let's be honest, that day will never come. (Also school starts tomorrow...)**

 **Anywayzz, I tried to make this season 2 canon, but I pretty much ignored everything that was revealed in The Collector, so yeah. Oops.**

 **Bug Out!**

He was finally happy.

Adrien Agreste had finally discovered the true identity of his lady, and everything was perfect. The two superheroes entered Master Fu's tea shop in their civilian forms, for the sake of the Great Guardian's safety.

"Master Fu?"

Marinette peeked from the crack of the door to see the 186-year-old man meditating.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir. It is a pleasure to see you again! I assume your identities have been shared with each other?"

"Yes, but we have a problem." The man nodded for her to go on. "We were fighting Volpina and when we defeated her, she didn't seem to have an akuma." Chat handed Master Fu the small box that held the necklace, "She seemed to have possessed the fox miraculous."

"That's impossible. I take great care in guarding the miraculous and the fox necklace is here, whenever Ms. Cesaire needs to use it."

Master Fu opened the box, to see the fox miraculous lay atop the red cushion. Picking it by the chain, he examined it. Using his left hand, he flicked the jewel, and it crumbled into dust.

"Did the miraculous just.." Marinette's voice trailed off, "disintegrate?"

"This is not a miraculous. It is anything but. Yes, the powers are the same, but it is only a fake." Master Fu explained.

The man walked up to his gramophone, and revealed the box of the miraculous. Besides the fox miraculous, the bee miraculous was the only one left standing.

"There are two miraculous that have been lost, the butterfly, which is in the possession of Hawkmoth, and the elusive peacock. I do not know who now holds the Peacock pin, as the prior owner is nowhere to be found."

"Do you have any idea on who the peacock owner currently is?" Adrien asked.

"Not only that, but I have my own suspicions of the owner of the butterfly. But Adrien, by knowing, you may not be able to do what must be done in the final strive against good and evil."

"Maybe," Adrien decided. "Maybe I shouldn't know. Our main priority is stopping Hawkmoth and whoever created those fake miraculous."

"Only the peacock has the power to create fake holders in order to aid the akumas, and if it is true that there is a new holder helping Hawkmoth, you two may not be able to defeat them alone."

"Meaning?"

Putting the two remaining miraculous in boxes, he handed them to the two teenagers.

"You have already found Rena Rouge. I trust your judgement. Find an appropriate holder for the bee miraculous."

"The four of us, will be more than enough to take Hawkmoth and the peacock holder down!" Adrien said.

"And I hope that it is true. Good day, Ms. Dupain-Cheng and Mr. Agreste! I wouldn't want to make you even more late than you already are!"

The duo waved as they walked to school, together.

"And I hope you are ready to make the impossible decision, Adrien."

 **A/N: I have no idea what the peacock miraculous' powers are. So...**

 **(Throws canon out the window)**

 **Like usual, there is no set schedule. Luckily I'm already in the process of writing Ch 3, so that will take some of the weight off my back.**

 **As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!**

 **Bug Out!**


	2. Secrets

Chapter Two: Secrets

 **A/N: So I need to apologize for not uploading ANYTHING yesterday. I just didn't have the drive. I honestly am not even proud of this chapter. Ugh, I couldn't really find a way to push it along.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated!**

 **Bug Out!**

Adrien and Marinette simultaneously walk to the school together. They decided to keep their civilian relationship under wraps until their superhero sides were officially known as a couple. As the two sat in their respective seats as Marinette's friend, Alya began to grill her with some questions.

"Girl, you walked in WITH Adrien and you didn't stutter!" she observed, "Did something happen that you didn't tell me?"

Marinette laughed, knowing she'd have to wait a while before even her best friend could know the true nature of her sudden confidence.

"ADRIKINS!"

Marinette jolted up as a liability known as Chloe Bourgeois ran into the arms of Adrien.

"H-hey Chloe," Adrien stuttered, knowing how this would end up going down.

"So Daddy is throwing me a party! And _you_ are going to be my date!" Chloe smiled deviously.

Marinette's jaw hung agape in shock as Adrien seemed clearly uncomfortable around the mayor's daughter.

"But Chloe, you can't just announce your inviting me to the class without asking anyone else if they'd like to join..." he said, trying to find a way to ditch her.

"Yes I can," Chloe said. "Because it's going to be a prestigious party, where only the best will attend. That's you and me, Adrikins!"

"Chloe, I can't be your date!"

"And why is that?" she asked, feigning, innocence.

As Adrien was about to respond, Marinette furiously shook her head.

If he saw her, he ignored her as he responded, "Because I'm with Marinette."

There was a pin-drop silence as everyone was shocked, but excited with this new revelation. Alya filmed the entire ordeal with her phone as Nino Lahiffe could only stare at his best friend. Marinette could only bury her head in her arms as Adrien sighed, realizing he did exactly what his girlfriend _didn't_ want him to do. But he stood his ground.

"Marinette and I are dating, so if I go with you, Chloe, as a couple, it would be just like lying. And I refuse to lie to everything and everyone. I'm sorry Chloe, I hope you understand."

"Oh I understand _perfectly_. She's blackmailing you!" Chloe shouted.

"What are you talking about, Chloe?" Marinette said wearily.

"So what did she threaten you with, Adrikins? You can tell me anything!"

"Chloe, she isn't blackmailing me. I'm dating her out of my own free will."

She scoffed. "Utterly ridiculous!" before storming out.

* * *

"So what ever happened to keeping it a secret?"

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir were atop the school, as they discussed the recent events.

"I'm sorry, M'lady! I didn't want to lie to everyone!"

"I know Kitty, but we already have so many reasons for people to be suspicious, this is just going to add to it!"

"I'm sorry," Chat apologized again, "But pulling away from the topic, we still need to find a holder for the bee miraculous."

"Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!"

The two heroes turned to see Chloe Bourgeois shouting at who seems to be the mayor's chief of staff.

"Officer Raincomprix does his job better than anyone!" she argued, "Sabrina's father doesn't deserve to be demoted!"

"He failed to catch a petty theft suspect."

"You can't catch everyone!" She yelled, "I didn't see _you_ catching the criminal! And if you have a problem with my opinion, then you can go complain to my father, the mayor."

Terrified, the chief of staff nodded before quickly walking away.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you Chloe!" Sabrina beamed. "My dad gets to keep his job, thanks to you!"

"It's nothing," she scoffed. "But if you tell anyone about this, this will be the last thing I ever do for you."

Sabrina and her father happily drove away, leaving Chloe behind. Thinking she was alone, she smiled a smile warmer than anything Marinette had ever seen in her life.

Turning to the side, Ladybug saw Chat Noir staring at her.

"No." she said promptly.

"Think about it, we need a bee miraculous holder, and Chloe is perfect!" Chat reasoned, "I know you think I'm playing favorites, but Chloe is a good person, deep down!"

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that she's been treating everyone like they were nothing for years?!" Ladybug argued. "Yes, she defended Sabrina's father, but that doesn't automatically make her good enough to be a miraculous holder!"

"Last time I checked, Alya Cesaire, founder of a blog dedicated to discovering a certain spotted heroine's identity, was also a recruit of the latter. She could tell everyone she has a miraculous, albeit temporary, but she didn't. You trusted her. As I do Chloe. So who's playing favorites now?" The cat stood firmly.

"Fine." Ladybug scowled. "But the first sign of a double cross and we're done."

"Deal!" Chat beamed, "But, I think her _hero_ should be the one to deliver it to her. I don't have the _best_ reputation with her."

"You said you ditched her physics homework for me, Marinette, right?"

Chat could only nod as he handed her the ornate box.

* * *

Chloe Bourgeois lay on her bed, mid text when she heard a noise. Cautiously walking towards the noise, she saw the unmistakable glimmer of spots.

"Ladybug? Ladybug!" she shrieked, running towards her hero.

Stopping midway, she began to ask. "What's Ladybug doing in my room?"

She sighed, "I'm going to regret this..."

"Regret what?"

Ladybug interrupted the mayor's daughter in mid sentence as she held up a box.

"Chloe Bourgeois, this is the miraculous of the bee. You will use it for the greater good for the time being, then return it to me once the job has concluded. Can I trust you?"

Chloe stared at the box. "Ladybug, trusting _me_ with a miraculous? No, t-there has to be someone else more fit for the job."

Ladybug smiled. "A thought I had as well. A thought I had before a certain cat changed my mind."

"After all the akumas I've caused… why me?"

"As I said before, you weren't my first choice. Honestly, you were one of my last. But seeing how willing you are to reject power greater than you could ever imagine reassures me that you will make a great miraculous holder."

Chloe smiled, more confident in her idol's choice, as she opened the box.

A yellow ball of light escaped as it faded in front of the blonde, revealing a kwami.

"W-what are you?" Chloe asked, putting on the comb.

"More like _who_ are you," she scoffed. "I'm Pollen, a kwami. I help you transform."

"This is so amazing!" she shrieked in excitement. "So, how do I transform?"

"All you have to say is…"

Chloe nodded.

" _Pollen, Buzz Out!"_

* * *

The two girls met with Chat Noir on a rooftop nearby.

"Did you deliver the miraculous to Rena Rouge?" the woman in red asked.

As if on cue, Rena Rouge smiled as she landed to the right of Chat Noir.

"I can't believe I get to help you guys out again!" she squealed in anticipation.

Chat Noir took notice of the new face, and smiled knowing his childhood friend was finally a wielder of a miraculous.

"So… what should I call you?" he asked.

"You can call me.." she trailed off, thinking of a name.

" _Queen Bee._ You can call me Queen Bee."

 **A/N: So yeah, I wanted to play with the Chloe redemption arc a little since Queen's Battle hasn't come out yet. I liked the idea of this entitled mayor's daughter in public, but she can be considerate when neccessary. I wrote this chapter when the global promo came out, before Style Queen trailer released, so I may have made some canonical errors. I also have no clue what her actual powers are, so I'm going to be going out on a limb everytime she appears.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated!**

 **Bug Out!**


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